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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperDesignGame Design Workflow - Getting Started?
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PogueSquadron
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« on: May 23, 2017, 08:28:48 AM »

So, after going through tutorial after tutorial, I figure it's time to bite the bullet and really start to work on something that's all my own. After some failed attempts in the past, I'm really trying to be thorough with my process this time around. I'm currently outlining game mechanics, rules, objectives, structure, etc. I'm keeping things simple and trying to limit the scope to things I know how to do (mostly).

I'm feeling good with things so far, but I'm not exactly sure how to approach the workflow as a one man team. There are so many aspects to game design, including the coding, the asset production, structure design, etc. Does anyone have any tips for how to get started?

My initial thoughts were to make some slightly crude assets to use as a starting point to work out the mechanics of my game, because I don't want to get bogged down in art only to find that it's not usable for what I need to do. Perhaps once I lay down the ground work, then I can go back and make my art better.

My other line of thinking was that I should also lay out the structure of the game, and at least make sure that my levels and menu systems are wired up properly. A start screen, a level select screen, a level, a lose screen, win screen, etc.

I feel like I have a good handle on WHAT needs to be done...but I'm a little iffier on WHEN these things should be done and any other concerns I should be aware of. As an illustrator, I've always worked in thumbnails before roughs and final images, so I understand the importance of a.) Answering important questions early and b.) Laying the foundation so I can focus on the fun stuff later.

tldr: Does anyone have any tips as to how to juggle a game by yourself, bouncing between asset creation and coding, making a prototype, etc? Thanks!
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-Ross
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« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2017, 07:41:13 AM »

Derek Yu's "Finishing a Game" and this one-game-a-month article were the most helpful for me.

Some of the bits that I remember often:
  • Save it for the sequel: cut any non-absolutely-essential features and tell yourself you'll do them in the sequel to this game.
  • Create a working prototype ASAP and have a working game at all times after that. Figure that you could walk away from the project after each build you make (every day or two) and someone could still be entertained by it.

It sounds like you've already made the first mistake, which is overthinking it (but no worries). Some planning is good, but if you've been planning for more than a few hours and haven't written any code yet, then you're most likely procrastinating, not working productively. You can't work out all the issues without actually making anything. You will make mistakes and have to rework things—plan on that.

Start your project as if it's for a game jam. Plan to create a playable prototype in two days or less. If that doesn't work then your basic gameplay concept is too complex or too vague. If you're making Zelda, your minimum prototype would have a character with basic movement and an attack, and something to hit. Done. Everything after that is just incremental improvements.

Don't do any art until you have a decent playable game. I keep a few basic shape images(square, hard circle, soft circle, triangle, and cross) that I scale, rotate, and color to make my prototype objects.

Break things down into "bite-sized" pieces. If you're not sure where to start on something then you just haven't broken it down small enough. Don't plan huge systems until you've made a hack version that works. It's MUCH faster to make a terrible thing that sort of works, then rewrite it properly now that you know the challenges; than it is to plan out a perfect system and try to do it right from the beginning.


Once you have some decent gameplay coded and playable, then start on art. Start with rough static images for things, then start adding animations, then the fancy little bits of polish. Try to keep all the game pieces at roughly the same level. Don't make a super polished character and leave everything else blank. I think you'll find it progresses fairly naturally between code and art. Once you make some art assets you'll probably have to write code for them to work with the gameplay. Then you'll playtest it and see that the art needs to change a bit . . . You'll probably need to write shaders, and make specific assets to work with them. Meanwhile you'll be fixing bugs, adding new gameplay and content, new enemies, menus, and so on, which will then need new art assets made . . . you go back and forth as needed. You could plan your days to focus art or code if you want, but you can't really have one without the other, so don't try too hard to separate them.
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PogueSquadron
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« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2017, 09:33:41 PM »

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely read everything in greater detail!

Since then,I've continued with my prototype, just concentrating on the nuts and bolts. Super excited to keep going with things. It's super basic and crappy so far but it's a functioning little game where I can jump on and dash into enemies. Can't wait to keep going with it.
  https://twitter.com/StepladderGames/status/868693009210200065
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redredred
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« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2017, 03:20:25 AM »

Hi. First off congrats on wanting to pursue your own project. Being a one man team can be a bit tasking and will be hard, but if you're well organized and you scope well, then you'll be able to do it. I'll uh...expand on it below.

1)Scope well - Some games that never finish is because they don't scope the game good enough. They "assume" the scope of the game, but never realize that they're working on a game that can never be finished in the amount of time planned. Remember, there are only 24 hours a day. If you have a 9-5 job, and sleep regularly, that's already 16 hours gone. The 8 hours will be left to eat, do hobbies, spend time with friends, or family, or girlfriend. Point is, there's only a limited amount of time in a day, and some devs assume that they're working on something easy, when they've planned a 300 hour project that they're only spending 2-4 hours a day on.

2)Get yourself an Organizer - Pace yourself and track your own progress to see how much you're really putting in your work. I recommend Trello OR HacknPlan(it just came out, and it's such a dream to use). HacknPlan especially is a project manager that tracks your hours spent and is tailor made for game development. It tracks your progress on sound, design, writing, code, etc.

Good luck man .  Smiley
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Ordnas
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« Reply #4 on: June 05, 2017, 03:56:24 AM »

Make a physical prototype as soon as possible, so you can check if the design is fun/correct/wrong etc.
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PogueSquadron
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« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2017, 07:56:56 AM »

Thank you all for your advice. I'm getting a prototype going slowly but surely. I feel like it's taking me too long but I have some mechanics in place that I felt were mandatory. The game is going to be similar to the first Wario Land. As of now I can have my character charge into enemies, jump on them, and have them slide out of the way, ready to be picked up. Having SO much fun with it. I'm using a character animation I worked up a few weeks ago but aside from that have only been using some very basic placeholder images. You can see my progress at https://twitter.com/stepladdergames. I'm hoping to have something finished by the end of the month!
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Captain Platformer
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« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2017, 11:56:53 PM »

I'm currently working on a Keynote about the creative process in game design, and i've made this animated flow chart that might give you a good understanding of the creative process in its early stages.
https://cartrdge.com/s/images/unsafe/filters:gifv(mp4)/https://cartrdge-east.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/image/86363665-313b-4464-bdb7-e99142ab4f5f/creative-process.gif
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Al_B
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« Reply #7 on: July 13, 2017, 04:51:56 AM »

I would suggest three things that might be of help:

1. Start by picking the most pertinent thing first and sticking with it to completion FIRST!  Your Game has a cool gimmick? Hammer it out first and then move on to the next important thing. As someone who's also a one-man team, I've learned you need to set priorities.

2. Set some short goals to keep you motivated and show your progress. Make them no longer than a week. Even if it's no more than a Level in a week or a character/boss design, small incremental progress will keep you going and give you a sense of pride when you look back.

3. Watch what others are doing, as it may give you inspiration (if not on this project, another one).

That's all I can think of at the moment.
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Xorglord
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« Reply #8 on: July 13, 2017, 10:05:28 AM »

My best piece of advice as someone who has been barely committing to developing my game over 2 years (and recently actually started putting in the effort with it) is to get people to playtest it. Regularly, once a week.

Similar to what was said above, you want to always have a playable version of your game, but extending off of that, having people playtest it is something I have found to be SO invaluable. I'm designing a puzzle platformer, and having people play it and show me that their brains dont come to solutions the same way mine would has been invaluable for iterating on my levels.
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